A bachelor’s degree in environmental science requires completing a variety of classes designed to develop your knowledge about the environment and teach you how to think creatively and critically about environmental issues. The curriculum promotes problem solving of local and global issues.
Classes address topics like global awareness, technology, environmental policies, fisheries and wildlife, ecology, humans and the environment, business management and the environment, and environmental systems. In addition, you can develop computer skills and familiarity with technology such as the geographic information systems and digital mapping.
Some programs require an internship that is hands on, observational, or research based. It is also possible to specialize by completing a set of designated classes in areas like resource management, conservation, business management, pollution abatement, and ecosystem restoration and management.
Job: Environmental Scientist and Specialist
Environmental scientists and specialists work for government agencies responsible for managing the environment. They also work for private organizations that must regularly comply with environmental regulations. Their work may be entirely completed in an office environment using computers for researching, analyzing, and monitoring environment issues as well as designing environmental systems; or it may also require field work using special devices.
The tasks that environmental scientist and specialists perform can vary significantly. It includes writing risk assessments of the environment due to construction or planned changes, assessing environmental damage as a result of natural occurrences and designing restoration programs, monitoring pollution and developing governmental policies, and writing technical proposals for public or private entities.
Environmental science is a growing field that offers job opportunities due to population growth and the increasing numbers of environmental hazards and regulations.